Solo Leveling : Ragnarok - Chapter 76

Ch-ch-ch-chak!

Countless black beams of light struck Lee Minseong like thunderbolts.

Boom!

[Khaaak…!]

Lee Minseong plummeted to the ground with an immense roar.

Immediately, Baek Miho followed him to the ground and drove her fist vertically into his abdomen.

Thwack!

“Keugh!”

Lee Minseong’s eyes widened as he spat out blood.

“From now on, let’s fight down here.”

Baek Miho, her eyes blazing, swung her arms.

Skill: Claws of the Beast.

Thud! Thwack!

From that moment, Baek Miho relentlessly pummeled Lee Minseong.

If she paused her attack even for a moment, he could slip away.

‘I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but I can’t miss this chance!’

Although she was confused by Suho’s sudden display of power, missing this opportunity would allow Lee Minseong to escape at incredible speed.

Baek Miho intensified her assault, while Lee Minseong, regaining his senses, fought back against her attack.

His speed was undeniably superior, but a myriad of shadow spearmen constantly harassed him, closing the gap.

Lee Minseong couldn’t hide his bewildered expression.

‘How are these spearmen…?’

What was going on?

How did these spearmen suddenly appear?

What was this man’s relationship with the Queen Bee?

Questions flooded Lee Minseong’s mind.

And just then, when he saw Suho’s face attacking from the opposite side of Baek Miho, all the mixed emotions erupted in an instant.

[What on earth is your connection to the Queen Bee?!]

Crash!

Lee Minseong’s attack targeted Suho.

Logically, he should have focused on the stronger Baek Miho, but by now, Lee Minseong was beyond reason.

And he finally realized the nature of this overwhelming emotion.

It was… jealousy.

[Why did the Queen Bee give those spearmen to someone like you?!]

He desperately tried to deny it, but one unchanging truth remained.

It was that…

[I, Lee Minseong, am the strongest worker bee loved by the Queen! Not someone like you…!]

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Lee Minseong’s attacks, driven by extreme rage, scorched the battlefield, prompting Baek Miho to urgently deploy a defensive skill.

“Urgh…! Suho, get behind me!”

But instead of retreating, Suho pushed forward even more.

‘No way.’

Baek Miho couldn’t believe her eyes.

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud…!

Right before her, Lee Minseong’s spear and Suho’s sword clashed in an intense duel.

Lee Minseong was unquestionably faster than Suho.

However, Suho never halted his offense, even taking attacks directly with his body if he couldn’t avoid them.

Baek Miho couldn’t help but be astonished by his relentless and rugged assault.

‘Is he not a summoner but a tank?’

Nothing made sense anymore.

Baek Miho gave up trying to figure out Suho.

But she wasn’t entirely wrong.

[‘Skill: Toughness’ level has increased!]

[Physical Defense +60% → +80%]

‘Good. This way, I can endure more.’

Suho’s mind remained incredibly rational despite the fierce battle.

Body hot, mind cold.

He monitored his HP and MP, checking them moment by moment while fighting.

Lee Minseong was an overwhelmingly powerful opponent, so he couldn’t afford to use skills that continuously drained mana as he usually did.

Using Giant’s Armor to bulk up against a fast opponent was suicidal.

Even summoning Gray to enhance speed would only last a few minutes at most.

Although he wasn’t using active skills, Suho imbued every attack with mana, carefully conserving energy as he fought.

‘In the end, Body Strengthening Technique is all I have…’

Among his skills, Body Strengthening Technique had the greatest destructive power.

However, it was also a mana-draining skill, and to hit such a fast opponent, immobilizing him first was essential.

Suho commanded the shadow spearmen.

“Bind his legs! Tear off the wings and attack his limbs!”

It was a merciless order!

But the ones being torn apart were the shadow spearmen themselves.

[You pests!]

[Chiririk…!]

Spearmen’s necks were severed, and their chests bore gaping holes from Lee Minseong’s attacks.

But that wasn’t the end; it was a new beginning.

[Kiheek-!]

As Suho’s mana depleted, the shattered bodies of the shadow spearmen began to reattach as black vapor.

The sight shocked Lee Minseong.

[This is impossible! Even I can’t do this…!]

A crude jealousy as a fellow spearman surged within him.

[Why did the Queen Bee not grant me such regenerative abilities? Was she afraid I’d become too powerful?!]

Of course, that wasn’t true.

But consumed by jealousy, Lee Minseong’s misunderstanding grew uncontrollable, and he realized something.

Come to think of it, he used to be unable to attack the Queen Bee’s spearmen.

But now, for some reason, he could.

What did this mean?

[So, that’s it! Haha! I’m already completely free of the Queen Bee! Gathering my own legion was the right choice after all!]

Lee Minseong laughed triumphantly.

He crushed the spearmen and charged at Suho.

But at that moment.

Shiver!

[……!]

Lee Minseong saw it.

Goooooo—

The immense shadow looming behind Suho.

An illusion of something colossal, gazing down at him with a haughty stare as if he were insignificant.

[The Queen of Insects, the Plague Monarch, watches Lee Minseong.]

[Ah… Ahhh…]

In that overwhelming gaze, he was reduced to nothing more than a small, trembling insect.

For an instant.

Time resumed its flow.

Lee Minseong’s mind snapped back to reality, and the massive shadow was nowhere to be seen.

‘Did I… see wrong?’

Lee Minseong, unsure of what was happening, decided to flee immediately.

‘My main goal has been accomplished.’

His eyes turned toward Im Taegyu, shooting arrows at the ghouls from afar.

‘I don’t know how the ghouls managed to poison him…’

Im Taegyu was visibly weakened by the poison.

For now, he was suppressing it with mana, but it would only be a matter of time before he succumbed.

‘I don’t care if I lose all the ghouls here. As long as I capture Im Taegyu!’

Then he would command an S-rank Hunter as his worker bee.

…Or so Lee Minseong mistakenly believed.

Unaware that Secretary Oh had betrayed Im Taegyu, Lee Minseong assumed his opponent was affected by his Royal Jelly’s poison.

‘Yes, I’ll retreat now! No one can cure Im Taegyu’s poison. All I have to do is hide and wait until he succumbs!’

Swoosh!

With that thought, he turned and fled.

“I won’t let you escape!”

Suho and the shadow spearmen immediately pursued him.

[Got you, you pest!]

Lee Minseong, spotting an opening, turned suddenly to attack Suho.

[At least you’ll die…!]

“…!”

Lee Minseong’s mana exploded toward Suho.

“No!”

Baek Miho rushed in from behind, but it was too late.

Boom!

A highly condensed burst of mana.

“…Guh.”

“…!”

Suho’s eyes widened.

He wasn’t the one hit.

Im Taegyu had somehow slipped between them and taken the hit meant for Suho.

Even Lee Minseong was stunned by the unexpected development.

[Im Taegyu, you…!]

“Yes, it’s me, you bastard.”

Im Taegyu, blood gushing from his mouth, smirked as he looked directly at Lee Minseong.

Even in pain, he grabbed the spear embedded in his abdomen tightly, refusing to let go.

Despite his diminished mana, Im Taegyu still had the physical prowess of an S-rank Hunter.

[Im Taegyu!]

Lee Minseong glared and struggled, releasing murderous intent.

[What are you thinking?! Are you planning to die with me?!]

“…What do you think, bastard?”

Im Taegyu replied weakly.

“After all, you’re like this because of me, aren’t you?”

[……!]

Lee Minseong’s movements stopped for a moment.

Im Taegyu, staring into his bloodshot eyes, chuckled bitterly.

“So I have to take responsibility. After all, we’re friends.”

He felt genuinely sorrowful.

Their friendship had only fractured less than two years ago.

Before that, they had been closer than anyone else, childhood friends.

How did it come to this?

What was so great about mana?

What was so special about awakening?

‘Why would someone born with everything envy someone like me…?’

“…So, Minseong?”

Flare!

Im Taegyu’s suppressed mana surged violently.

The poison from the Royal Jelly threatened his mind, but it would all be over before then.

“I refuse to watch my friend die at the hands of others. Just die by my hand.”

[Nonsense! You’ll die instead!]

Lee Minseong roared and attacked Im Taegyu with his free hand.

Then.

Slice!

Suho descended between them like lightning.

Lee Minseong’s arms were severed simultaneously by Suho’s dual swords.

[……!]

Lee Minseong’s eyes widened.

“Enough talking.”

Right then.

With Lee Minseong legs bound, Suho unleashed his full power on him.

[‘Skill: Body Strengthening Technique (Kangche-sul )’ activated.]

Body Strengthening Technique.

The power that even turned a mere goblin into the Lord of Strength, Amut.

That dark and immense energy traveled through Suho’s arm and extended into his sword.

Boom!

Suho’s assault didn’t cease.

Like a massive hand crushing a small insect.

Again and again.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Relentlessly.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Suho unleashed a merciless torrent of attacks on Lee Minseong.

‘This can’t be…’

With both arms lost, Lee Minseong couldn’t even scream as he took the full brunt of each strike.

‘Why am I being beaten by someone like him…!’

It was unbelievable.

If it were S-rank Hunter Im Taegyu, it might be understandable, but to be so thoroughly defeated by the young, unknown Suho was something Lee Minseong couldn’t accept.

But…

It hurt.

Each and every one of Suho’s strikes inflicted unbearable pain.

Yet the worst part was seeing Im Taegyu, watching him with a conflicted expression, murmuring something.

“…”

But he couldn’t hear it.

Lee Minseong’s ears, battered by the assault, couldn’t pick up any sound.

[Kaaaargh!]

In a final act of desperation, Lee Minseong charged at Suho, only for Suho’s giant, black fist and the numerous attacks from the shadow spearmen to land on him simultaneously.

Thud.